Abstract [en]

The Swedish National Rail Administration has changed in the past decade, from its origin after a less dramatic separation from the Swedish State Railways to becoming an authority with its own identity. Today the National Rail Administration is a large organisation with several different departments, each with its own unique function. To operate train services the railway needs to be “in shape”, leading to a need for maintenance, reinvestments and new investments. For this purpose, the National Rail Administration carries out public procurement where contractors, who are able to perform maintenance and new construction, submit tenders.

Careful planning is required to avoid delays on transport operators as a consequence of railway work. Construction work that requires track closure has the effect that transport operators need to fit changes into their operating schedules. Work requiring lengthy closures need to be negotiated between concerned parties beforehand, so that the closure or re-routing will not come as a shock. It is therefore important that planning is done well in advance and that all concerned parties are heard.

The National Rail Administration is supported by a main process with various sub-processes to facilitate the planning of the work. The local track district within Banverket initiates the process and then the result is handed in to Banverket Rail Traffic for follow-up of the requested work. The follow-up often is a time-demanding task since there are no specially designed tools for this purpose. Banverket Rail Traffic has therefore extended its work process in order to allow for some follow-up. All scheduled work is entered into a customized Excel sheet. The sheet contains information of where and when the work is to be done and what kind of measures are to be taken. This is necessary in order for train dispatchers to be able to direct the trains in a safe way, for passengers as well as for railway workers.

When Banverket Rail Traffic has approved or rejected the requested work, the sheet is forwarded to all concerned parties so that those who intend to perform the work can plan the actual implementation. The planning process is time demanding since it involves several different departments and entrepreneurs. A complicated procedure is started where it is difficult to follow the flow of scheduled work, which in turn leads to errors and that approved work is not being performed. Too often, closures and redirections are done without any work being in progress. The problem with scheduled, but non-performed work is a long known fact and Banverket Rail Traffic is working on various solutions.

A common system where all concerned parties would be able to see the planning status is recommended. Today this is not possible since the Excel sheet from Banverket Rail Traffic has to be forwarded between the departments or e-mail or telephones have to be used. A system common for all parties would probably reduce the share of non-performed work and enable for a higher degree of coordinated planning in order to make train services run smoothly.